Literature

«One man's ramblings» suddenly on paper

5 reading minutes

écrit par Diana-Alice Ramsauer · 09 November 2021 · 0 commentaire

«Les élucubrations d’un homme» soudain frappé(es) sur papier

I haven't read the book I'm going to introduce to you in this review. But I can already tell you that the text is excellent. The play of which it is a rectangular replica is, in any case: Edouard Baer's book, entitled The ramblings of a man suddenly struck by grace, based on the play of the same name, can only be as successful as its inspiration, which is played out on stage. My next goal for the day? To record word by word what I experienced in this Parisian theater. As you will have gathered, this is a literary chronicle with a touch of theatricality about it. Purists be forgiven. Since September 16, Edouard Baer has been playing himself on stage at the Théâtre Antoine in Paris. He is an actor and is about to perform his play: The ramblings of a man suddenly struck by grace. Story.

The man who appears on stage exudes anguish. The actor in his Sunday best, sweaty and disoriented, begs forgiveness: he was supposed to perform his show in the theater next door, but just as he was about to deliver his first line, he couldn't. He ran away and finds himself in front of us... us who were supposed to be attending another play called "The Play". He ran off and found himself in front of us... we who were supposed to be attending another play called Last bar before the end of the world. A stage manager is already on stage, ready to go. And so begins a discussion, a monologue, even some elucidations. Doubts, questions, few answers, and a few inspirations.

He is also the author-improviser of the famous tirade «You know, I don't believe that there is a good or bad situation» in Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra takes on intimate, existential themes. With humor, but above all with subtlety. The audience laughs at a simple gesture. A mimic of spite. A word. What if we were to live someone else's life for a few moments? Why can't we run away from stupidity or act in the face of fear? How do we become heroic? Who do artists think they are when they evoke and draw inspiration from the most important figures in history? What if we had nothing left to say to each other?

Help from the benevolent ghosts of the past

When Edouard Bear is at a loss for words, a whole catalog of tirades comes to the rescue: Brassens lyrics, Bukowski quotations, Malraux funeral orations, Thomas Bernhard stompings, interviews with Romain Gary. The transitions are fluid and natural. The rhythm is accessible to all, more or less literate (especially less than more). You'll come away touched, grown up and with a mad desire to reread the text. And all the others quoted.

Precisely. The text: I have it in my hands today, but I've only read the preface. By Edouard Bear. If you don't have a Rolex and write a book by the time you're 50, you've missed out on life. That's more or less how the actor presents his new baby. But without pretension. It's as if he had due do it, due to write it. That it was time. There's no point hiding behind false humility. So, taking up the oral work he produced on stage, he put it down, word for word on page. With the shortcomings of the spoken word, inherent in texts composed without pen or computer.

And to conclude?

I'm sure you've walked out of a show vowing to see it a second time and catch every detail. You certainly never have. So, under the guise of «I've written a book because I'm fifty years old and I'm having a little existential crisis», Edouard Bear gives me - gives us - a hell of a helping hand. You, like me, are going to be able to (re-)enjoy his play without going to/returning to the Théâtre Antoine in Paris. It'll be a quiet night. I don't know about you, but the idea delights me.

Write to the author: diana-alice.ramsauer@leregardlibre.com

Photo Credit: DR